Since Charles’s car was not parked in the drive, Derek assumed that neither his wife nor his host had yet returned. He was therefore surprised, on opening his bedroom door, to see Diana hurriedly packing their cases. Derek said nothing, and stood waiting for her to speak, but she went on folding shirts as though he was not there. At last he asked quite casually, ‘Where’s Charles?’ ‘Having his chin stitched up,’ she replied with exaggerated calmness. ‘I’m sorry,’ murmured Derek.‘Oh you are, are you?’ she returned with bitter sarcasm.‘I’m certainly not glad, if that’s what you’re implying.’Diana didn’t reply, but folded a final shirt and began straining to shut the bulging case. ‘Let me,’ he said, bending down and trying to flatten down the clothes in the case before attempting to close it. Without warning, she brought down the lid on his hands with all her strength, trapping his fingers. He let out a gasp of pain as she gave one last push before relaxing the pressure.
